(07/27/09) (HONOLULU) -- In an effort to protect people where they live, work, and play, EPA announced the distribution of $57,000 to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans.

“We’re providing immediate growth opportunities for communities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “EPA is putting people to work by serving our core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

“The Recovery Act is accelerating the cleanup of many abandoned leaking underground storage tank sites that pose a threat to our limited groundwater resources,” said Laura Yoshii, acting regional administrator for the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “These cleanups will protect our valuable groundwater supplies, while creating green jobs that will improve our economy.” This money is part of $197 million appropriated under the Recovery Act to address shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. The funds will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling or unable to finance, or the cleanup is an emergency response.

The EPA regional underground storage tank program is entering into a cooperative agreement with the CNMI Division of Environmental Quality. The cooperative agreement will include more detailed descriptions of island spending plans.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can visit Recovery.gov to see how every dollar is being invested.